Browse Items (3180 total)

"Sylvia, where the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located, was first called Sylvia, which is Latin for “the woods.” When the narrow gauge railroad came to the little town in 1879, it became Sylvia Switch, and was sometimes…

"Father John Zlebcik, a native of Bohemia and missionary to the Bohemian and German Catholics from Tama to Cedar Rapids, established many parishes while resident at Norway, Iowa. One of them is Saint Mary Parish at Vining in Tama County. In 1874,…

"Father John J. Quigley, pastor of Elkader from 1867 until after 1880, is the first priest of record to visit the Catholics of the Wadena area. From Elkader Father Quigley traveled thirty miles east on difficult roads to celebrate Mass in the home of…

“In the fall of 1883 Father John W. Toohill became pastor and purchased a house to be used as a rectory. During his pastorate, Thomas Barry became the area’s first candidate for the priesthood. He was ordained Dec. 17, 1894, and served Iowa…

"Father John Zlebcik formed the Catholics of the Walford area into Holy Trinity Parish and directed them in building their first church. Hand hewn oak beams supported the floor, and the pews were homemade. The church bell was donated by Francis and…

"At first the parish was a “station” cared for by Father Jean Perrodin, the first resident pastor of St. Patrick’s at Garryowen. On Sept. 6, 1841, Bishop Loras purchased a lot for a church and a larger lot for cemetary purposes. The first…

"The advent of the Chicago Northwestern Railroad with its shops attracted some to Belle Plaine, and the fertile farm land brought others to the area. As more Catholics arrived, Sunday Mass outgrew private homes and the public school was used until…

“When many Waterloo Catholics located in the northern part of the city in the early 1900s, they found it difficult to reach the church and school downtown. As Archbishop James J. Keane became aware of their difficulty, he directed the Franciscan…

"Saint Francis Church is located in Barclay Township, Blackhawk County, near Waterloo. It began in 1862 with the decision to build a church on the Joseph Rittelmeier farm two and a half miles southeast of Dunkerton. Limestone for the building was…

"The present church was built in 1898 under the direction of Father William Banfield, who served as pastor from 1893 to 1953. Legend has it he served all those years without an official appointment. Father Banfield saw the small town spring up across…